Matt Bolger returns to Fonterra to lead co-operative affairs division

Matt Bolger took up the role of managing director, co-operative affairs at Fonterra in March this year, five years after he had left the co-op to run the business school at the University of Waikato.

Speaking to Dairy News at Fonterra's Fieldays site, Bolger said he's always liked Fonterra as an organisation.

"Particularly what it does for New Zealand, and the co-op model appeals to me. It's an interesting model of both wealth creation and wealth distribution."

Bolger's role includes overseeing Farm Source, the co-operative's rural trading arm, which deals daily with farmer shareholders.

He says working for the co-op means a lot to all employees.

"You see the farmers and their families here at Fieldays, knowing that these are the people you work for. They come in gumboots as families, kids, multiple generations.

"And you know that if we do a good job, then the financial benefit is flying out, keeping all those small towns across New Zealand running. I think there's a lot of meaning in that."

Bolger also points to Fonterra's prowess on the global stage.

"It's a great organisation in terms of what it does on the world stage. And we don't always see that in New Zealand, but it is a real leader."

Bolger knows this having studied and worked for Fonterra in the US during his first stint with the co-op.

While he grew up mostly in Wellington, Bolger also spent a lot of his childhood on what was then the family sheep and beef farm in Te Kuiti. When his father - former Prime Minister Jim Bolger - was appointed Ambassador to the US, he studied there.

After finishing university, Bolger says he was keen to work for a NZ company in the US.

"I realised then that there isn't a long list," he says.

He joined Fonterra in 2002, working in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and his first role was "answering phones".

"I answered the phones, put the orders on the system. I don't know if I was the best at that. And, then I did a little bit of other work with the strategy team in the States."

He moved back to Fonterra's head office, then based near Auckland Airport, in 2003.

One of his roles then was leading a project to see whether the co-op would commercialise mozzarella that goes into pizzas in China and Asia or park it.

"And we did commercialise it. It's good coming back in Fonterra in the last few months and just seeing how well the team really turned that into a success."

Bolger says he's looking forward to working with Fonterra farmers and helping them make their business more profitable.

While at Waikato University, Bolger maintained close links with the dairy industry. He served as chairman of the Dairy Companies Association of New Zealand from 2022 to 2024.

No Plan to Ditch Value Add

Fonterra is not pulling back from its value-add business, says Matt Bolger.

He says the co-op's divestment plan is more about doubling down on value-add across its food service and ingredients business.

Bolger is surprised by some farmers asking him whether the co-op is pulling back from value-add.

"Nothing could be greater than the truth. The two business channels that have been highest performing for us in terms of value add have been our ingredients and our food service business," he told Dairy News.

He supports the divestment of consumer business.

"The consumer business is a fantastic business with great brands and great people. But we think somebody else probably can take it to a higher level than we can because of scale and synergies," he says.

He says there's great growth potential across food service and ingredients.

"We have amazing products, amazing science and amazing customer relationships - the product-market fit.

"We're going into healthy aging, wellness, medical nutrition: we're going into food service and out-of-home consumption. Those are good parts of the market to be in."